Question about RAM/Warranties and how to buy

I'm planning on buying a Macbook and need to do it relatively soon. I'd like the system with 2GB of RAM. I feel perfectly comfortable changing RAM. I understand that for Apple Care I need to have at least a stick of the actual Apple RAM installed. I assume that people commonly get non-Apple-branded RAM, and swap in the factory RAM for warranty support?

I don't necessarily have a problem paying the Apple.com store the $175 bump, but there seems something wrong about paying $300+ for 2GB of pretty average RAM in a retail store.

I've heard that certain owners have been able to get warranty exchanges directly, if they purchased in a local Apple Store. I wonder if this is a common experience, and assume that if this is the case I should be buying locally in the area where I'll be staying.

Whats the warranty return/exchange experience for those who purchased online from Apple.com? Do you have to ship the unit?

.... I understand that for Apple Care I need to have at least a stick of the actual Apple RAM installed....

Click to expand...

no you don't.....the thing is that when applecare starts troubleshooting a problem they tend to be quick to suspect 3rd party ram as the potential cause of whatever problem you're having. That can lead you into having to test the ram by reinstalling the original ram which can be a waste of time.

By retaining your original ram you can swap it back into your computer and avoid having applecare get sidetracked with suspicions of bad 3rd party ram.

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